Inmate facing trial over Christmas Eve stabbing

Cox pleads not guilty to assault, contraband charges

STERLING — — An inmate from Sterling Correctional Facility pled not guilty to charges related to the Christmas Eve stabbing of another inmate last year.

Christopher Cox, 31, is charged with possession of contraband and second degree assault after a fight involving three inmates on Dec. 24, 2012, that left one of them with puncture wounds on his back, stomach and legs.

Cox is serving time on convictions from 2004 and 2011 out of Larimer and Weld counties.

The first request from the defense counsel at a preliminary hearing on Wednesday was that Cox's hands be uncuffed so he could take notes. Although District Court Judge Charles Hobbs expressed concerns about the safety of allowing an inmate accused of stabbing someone, he and SCF officers agreed that one hand could be uncuffed, while the other remained shackled to Cox's waist.

Cox's attorney Oleh Sniezko also asked that the witnesses be sequestered for the hearing.

Sgt. Diane Mackey was the first of two SCF corrections officers who testified about the fight. Mackey, who has been at SCF for 11 and a half years, was one of the first staff on scene after the fight began. She identified Cox as one of the two inmates beating up a third man, and said she did not see a weapon used during the assault, although she did see the shank that was found later lying on the ground.

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The second guard, Frank Andriello, said he did not know who the inmates were at the time of the assault, as he was not normally assigned to Unit 7, where the assault occurred. He said he saw something white drop from Cox as the inmate moved away from the fight scene when responders ordered the men to the ground. While he wasn't aware at the time what the object was, he later identified it as the shank found in the pod near where Cox was stopped. After the incident was over, Andriello was one of the staff assigned to keep the scene secure.

Investigator Larry Graham was the third witness to testify. He was at home when the incident occurred, but reviewed video from the pod that showed the fight and took photographs of the scene. Graham said the victim was unwilling to let him take additional photos when he visited the man at the prison's clinic, but other staff had already photographed the injuries so Graham only took one of the victim's face. Graham said Cox also refused to exit his cell and be interviewed during the investigation.

During the hearing, the prosecution entered several pieces of evidence — photos showing the victim's injuries, photos of the pod where the fight occured and the weapon recovered, as well as video from the time of the incident.

Meanwhile, Sniezko questioned the witnesses on how they were able to identify the parties involved and when they learned about the weapon. He also objected to the video as evidence because Graham admitted that it was transferred from the recording system to his computer by a technician. The judge overruled the objection.

Hobbs ruled that the evidence presented by the state determined enough probably cause to move forward, and after Cox's plea, ordered a three-day trial.

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